Emma Stebbins (1815–1882) – Autograph Letter Signed – Rome, 3 March 1862 Charlotte Cushman / LGBTQ+ Women’s Art Colony / White Marmorean Flock

A fine and uncommon 4‑page autograph letter signed (“E. S. Stebbins”), written from Rome, Monday Morning, March 3, 1862, to Dr Appleton, giving a vivid and emotional account of the accidental death of her dog Brier during a carriage drive on the Portapia Road.

This letter is now known to describe the same incident later recounted by Stebbins in her biography Charlotte Cushman: Her Letters and Memories of Her Life (1878). In that published account, Stebbins confirms:

• Brier was a Scotch terrier of the “pepper‑and‑mustard” breed
• He was run over by a carriage during an outing with the household
• He was buried in a lonely part of the Roman Campagna, exactly as described here
• He belonged to the same household as Bushie (the famous Skye terrier) and Teddy (a toy terrier)

This makes the present letter a primary source for a documented event in the Cushman–Stebbins household.

The letter offers a rare, intimate glimpse into the domestic life of Emma Stebbins and Charlotte Cushman, central figures in the American women’s artistic colony in Rome — a community now widely recognised for its LGBTQ+ significance, independence, and proto‑feminist character.

Stebbins describes how Miss Cushman (Charlotte Cushman, the celebrated American actress and Stebbins’s long‑term partner) let Brier out of the carriage, leading to the tragic accident. The narrative continues with the frantic attempt to revive him, the indifference of the other dogs, and the burial in the Campagna.

A superb document of:

A documented incident appearing in Stebbins’s published biography

Emma Stebbins, pioneering American woman sculptor (Bethesda Fountain)

Charlotte Cushman, major 19th‑c actress and queer icon

The LGBTQ+ women’s art colony in Rome

The “white marmorean flock”

American expatriate life in Italy

Rare domestic detail from Cushman’s household

Provenance: 

One of c.2,500+ items once from the collection or dealer stock of Winifred A Myers (Autographs) Ltd, St Martins Lane, London, evidenced by the quantity of Myers pre-printed envelopes and paper folders and the general ‘presentation’ of the items, many having Myers identification notes in pencil. 

Winifred Alice Myers (1909 – 1985) served as ABA (Antiquarian Booksellers Assoc) president, 1950-1952. See the ABA website for an extended article on Myers. Myers left her business, in 1985, to Ruth Shepherd, who traded from home until 2004.  

Emma Stebbins (Sep 1815 – Oct 1882) was an American sculptor and the first woman to receive a public art commission from New York City. She is best known for her work Angel of the Waters (1873), the centerpiece of the Bethesda Fountain, located on the Bethesda Terrace in Central Park

Charlotte Saunders Cushman (Jul 1816 – Feb 1876) was an American stage actress. Her voice was noted for its full contralto register, and she was able to play both male and female parts. She lived intermittently in Rome, in an expatriate colony of prominent artists and sculptors, some of whom became part of her tempestuous private life.